1. Field
The present invention relates to a connector that electrically connects a printed wiring board (board module) used in electric equipment, etc., and more particularly, to a connector capable of preventing a contact failure between a contact terminal of a board module and a contact member of a connector and of improving the reliability of a connector for a long period.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, when a board module carrying a semiconductor component, etc., is connected electrically, a card edge connector, etc., having a contact member connected freely to a contact terminal of the board module has been used.
The structure of a conventional connector 1′ will be described referring to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a general configuration diagram of the interior of the conventional connector 1′. As shown in FIG. 9, the connector 1′ includes a body 4 having a first erected unit 2 and a second erected unit 3 that are erected in forked arrangement. Inside the first and second erected units 2 and 3, a pair of contact members (connection terminals 4 and 5) is disposed.
As shown in FIG. 9, the connection terminals 4 and 5 inside the first and second erected units 2 and 3 are disposed to be opposite to each other across a given gap. As shown in FIG. 10, when a board module 8 is inserted and set in the connector 1′, contact terminals (terminal units 9 and 9) disposed on the side faces of the board module 8 come in contact with terminal units 4a and 5a of the contact members (connection terminals 4 and 5), respectively, to establish an electrical connection.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2002-110276 discloses a conventional technique related to the terminal structure described above. The above conventional technique is disclosed as a terminal structure in which a tongue piece of a curved shape is disposed on a female terminal unit to prevent a decrease in cramping pressure when the female terminal unit comes in contact with a male terminal unit and facilitate insertion of the male terminal unit into the female terminal unit.
Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open Publication No. 48-012552 discloses a connector such that a male connector has a guide pin while a female connector has an insertion unit opening and closing in response to insertion of the guide pin so that frictional resistance resulting at the time of inserting the male connector into the female connector is reduced.
The above conventional connectors, however, pose the following problems. According to the conventional connectors, when the board module 8 is inserted in an inlet of the connector 1′, the terminals units 9 and 9 of the board module 8 come in contact with the terminal units 4a and 5a of the connector 1′.
This contact is made by exerting a strong press force that pushes the board module 8 into the inlet against an elastic force of the connection terminals 4 and 5 of the connector 1′ to push the connection terminals 4 and 5 outward (arrowed direction). As a result, the edge of the board module 8 is scraped in many cases. In some cases, the terminal units 4a and 5a of the connector 1′ are scraped in friction to produce scrapings when made of a soft material.
If such scrapings are caught in between the terminal units 9 and 9 of the board module 8 and the terminal units 4a and 5a of the connector 1′, an electrical contact failure may happen.
When the contact members (connection terminals 4 and 5) of the connector 1′ are made of a soft material, in particular, the terminal units 9 and 9 of the board module 8 cut deeply in the contact member (connection terminals 4 and 5), thus heavily scraping the surface of the connection terminals 4 and 5. As a result, scrapings are produced more frequently to bring the cause of an electrical contact failure.
In a case of conventional connector-related structures disclosed in publication of patent applications, a connection terminal of a connector may be soiled due to frequent use or deterioration by aging, or scrapings may be produced between contact faces as a result of strong contact between the contact faces. These structures, therefore, also pose a problem of the occurrence of such a trouble as contact failure.